Last week in San Diego, a group of 165 finance leaders convened for the fourth Future of Finance Summit. This JofA podcast episode is a compilation of takeaways from the event and a look at key areas of focus for leaders in 2025. It is the first of several Future of Finance recordings.

The speakers for this episode are:

n Tom Hood, CPA/CITP, CGMA, AICPA & CIMA's executive vice president–Business Growth & Engagement

n Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, CPA, CGMA, the CEO of KET Solutions and former AICPA chair

n Becca Shane, CPA, CGMA, the CFO of Blue Marlin Ventures

n Okorie Ramsey, CPA, CGMA, vice president–Sarbanes Oxley at Kaiser Permanente and former AICPA and Association of International Certified Professional Accountants chair

What you’ll learn from this episode:

· More about Tom Hood's summation that the event "leveled up."

· The top priorities of finance leaders, based on polling last week at the Future of Finance Summit.

· Why Kimberly Ellison-Taylor says she’s looking forward to “clarity” in 2025.

· Why the phrase “feed forward” and an emphasis on positivity resonated with CFO Becca Shane.

· Okorie Ramsey's focus on the talent pipeline and relevance.

· His explanation of the profession’s need to “tell a better story.”

It’s no secret anymore: Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, is retiring as CEO of AICPA & CIMA. He was first named CEO of the AICPA nearly 30 years ago, and he leaves the now global organization with a legacy of change. His last official day is Dec. 31, and Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, is his successor.

In this episode of the JofA podcast, recorded earlier this week at Digital CPA in Denver, Melancon explains why he’s not counting down the days of his tenure, why there likely will be more recreation in his future, and why he expects he will “still wake up every day and think about the profession.”

What you’ll learn from this episode:

· Why Melancon hasn’t been counting the days until his tenure as CEO ends.

· His “stellar” assessment of how he will transition into retirement.

· His relationship over the years with incoming CEO Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA.

· The “unsettled” nature of the world and how accountants can help.

· Why Melancon prioritized the profession and the members before thinking of the organization.

· The “humbling” messages he has received.

The potential for less regulation is one factor driving optimism among CPA decision-makers in a quarterly survey, according to Ken Witt, CPA, CGMA, AICPA & CIMA associate director–Management Accounting Research and Development.

Witt joined the JofA podcast to discuss fourth-quarter results of the Business and Industry Economic Outlook Survey — statistics that were dramatically different from the third quarter.

The executives are mostly optimistic about the domestic economy in 2025. They also have a brighter outlook as it relates to their own organizations, although that increase since the third quarter was more muted.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• A breakdown of the quarter-over-quarter change in optimism.
• What challenge returned to its familiar top spot in this quarter’s survey.
• The reasons that optimists and pessimists feel the way they do, according to Witt’s analysis.
• The hiring outlook for 2025.